Tunable electrical properties of lignin: morphology-dependent ionic conduction in Kraft and organosolv-derived materials
Lignin, a by-product of the pulp and paper industry and biomass processing, features a chemical structure rich in aromatic rings and functional groups such as ethers, alcohols, phenols and carboxyls, as well as electrical properties that can make it a promising material for various uses in a waste-t...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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IOP Publishing
2025-01-01
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| Series: | JPhys Materials |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1088/2515-7639/adf94c |
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| author | Rosarita D’Orsi Sebastiano De Stefano Ofelia Durante Marianna Ambrico Domenico Aceto Paolo Francesco Ambrico Nadia Martucciello Filippo Giubileo Sandra Rivas Alessandra Operamolla Antonio Di Bartolomeo |
| author_facet | Rosarita D’Orsi Sebastiano De Stefano Ofelia Durante Marianna Ambrico Domenico Aceto Paolo Francesco Ambrico Nadia Martucciello Filippo Giubileo Sandra Rivas Alessandra Operamolla Antonio Di Bartolomeo |
| author_sort | Rosarita D’Orsi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Lignin, a by-product of the pulp and paper industry and biomass processing, features a chemical structure rich in aromatic rings and functional groups such as ethers, alcohols, phenols and carboxyls, as well as electrical properties that can make it a promising material for various uses in a waste-to-application approach. This study investigates the composition, morphology, and DC electrical behavior of three distinct lignins: two derived from the Kraft extraction process and differing in their post-treatment ( L 1, L 2) and one ( L 3) extracted from Cynara cardunculus using an ethanolic organosolv process catalyzed by aqueous ammonia. Morphological analyses reveal that L 3 exhibits features intermediate between the smooth structure of L 1 and the fibrillar nanostructure of L 2. When used as the active layer in interdigitated devices, their I – V characteristics on a semilogarithmic plot exhibit butterfly-shaped curves, showing strong dependence on temperature and pressure. L 1 and L 3 are similar, while L 2 differs substantially, reflecting variations in functional group density and morphology. The low electrical conductivity, the dependence on morphology, and the hysteretic electrical behavior suggest that ionic conduction plays a significant role in the overall charge transport, with conductivity scaling as L 2 > L 3 > L 1 and increasing with pressure and temperature. Morphology-dependent adsorption of air molecules primarily enhances ionic conduction, and the good fit to the Arrhenius model suggests that charge transport occurs via carrier hopping across localized energy barriers. This study highlights the diverse electrical properties achievable with lignins with different extraction histories and their tunability through processing methods, enabling tailoring to specific applications and making lignin a versatile and sustainable material for electronic devices. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-eae0b628bd34437fa7c67fc965e15bc5 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2515-7639 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | JPhys Materials |
| spelling | doaj-art-eae0b628bd34437fa7c67fc965e15bc52025-08-20T04:03:26ZengIOP PublishingJPhys Materials2515-76392025-01-018404500310.1088/2515-7639/adf94cTunable electrical properties of lignin: morphology-dependent ionic conduction in Kraft and organosolv-derived materialsRosarita D’Orsi0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5408-9416Sebastiano De Stefano1https://orcid.org/0009-0007-8492-0857Ofelia Durante2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3539-3858Marianna Ambrico3https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0568-6860Domenico Aceto4https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5748-8962Paolo Francesco Ambrico5https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2455-6949Nadia Martucciello6https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1019-1587Filippo Giubileo7https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2233-3810Sandra Rivas8https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3752-6092Alessandra Operamolla9https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8527-0920Antonio Di Bartolomeo10https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3629-726XDepartment of Chemistry and Industrial Chemistry, University of Pisa , Via Giuseppe Moruzzi 13, Pisa 56124, ItalyDepartment of Physics ‘E.R. Caianiello’, University of Salerno , Via Giovanni Paolo II 132, Fisciano (Sa) 84084, ItalyDepartment of Physics ‘E.R. Caianiello’, University of Salerno , Via Giovanni Paolo II 132, Fisciano (Sa) 84084, ItalyCNR—ISTP, Institute for Plasma Science and Technology , Via Giovanni Amendola 122/d, Bari 70126, ItalyCNR—ISTP, Institute for Plasma Science and Technology , Via Giovanni Amendola 122/d, Bari 70126, ItalyCNR—ISTP, Institute for Plasma Science and Technology , Via Giovanni Amendola 122/d, Bari 70126, ItalyCNR—SPIN, Salerno Unit , Via Giovanni Paolo II 132, Fisciano (Sa) 84084, ItalyCNR—SPIN, Salerno Unit , Via Giovanni Paolo II 132, Fisciano (Sa) 84084, ItalyDepartment of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Science of Ourense, University of Vigo , As Lagoas s/n 32004 Ourense, Ourense, SpainDepartment of Chemistry and Industrial Chemistry, University of Pisa , Via Giuseppe Moruzzi 13, Pisa 56124, ItalyDepartment of Physics ‘E.R. Caianiello’, University of Salerno , Via Giovanni Paolo II 132, Fisciano (Sa) 84084, ItalyLignin, a by-product of the pulp and paper industry and biomass processing, features a chemical structure rich in aromatic rings and functional groups such as ethers, alcohols, phenols and carboxyls, as well as electrical properties that can make it a promising material for various uses in a waste-to-application approach. This study investigates the composition, morphology, and DC electrical behavior of three distinct lignins: two derived from the Kraft extraction process and differing in their post-treatment ( L 1, L 2) and one ( L 3) extracted from Cynara cardunculus using an ethanolic organosolv process catalyzed by aqueous ammonia. Morphological analyses reveal that L 3 exhibits features intermediate between the smooth structure of L 1 and the fibrillar nanostructure of L 2. When used as the active layer in interdigitated devices, their I – V characteristics on a semilogarithmic plot exhibit butterfly-shaped curves, showing strong dependence on temperature and pressure. L 1 and L 3 are similar, while L 2 differs substantially, reflecting variations in functional group density and morphology. The low electrical conductivity, the dependence on morphology, and the hysteretic electrical behavior suggest that ionic conduction plays a significant role in the overall charge transport, with conductivity scaling as L 2 > L 3 > L 1 and increasing with pressure and temperature. Morphology-dependent adsorption of air molecules primarily enhances ionic conduction, and the good fit to the Arrhenius model suggests that charge transport occurs via carrier hopping across localized energy barriers. This study highlights the diverse electrical properties achievable with lignins with different extraction histories and their tunability through processing methods, enabling tailoring to specific applications and making lignin a versatile and sustainable material for electronic devices.https://doi.org/10.1088/2515-7639/adf94cligninDC conductivitycharge transporthysteresismemristorssustainable electronics |
| spellingShingle | Rosarita D’Orsi Sebastiano De Stefano Ofelia Durante Marianna Ambrico Domenico Aceto Paolo Francesco Ambrico Nadia Martucciello Filippo Giubileo Sandra Rivas Alessandra Operamolla Antonio Di Bartolomeo Tunable electrical properties of lignin: morphology-dependent ionic conduction in Kraft and organosolv-derived materials JPhys Materials lignin DC conductivity charge transport hysteresis memristors sustainable electronics |
| title | Tunable electrical properties of lignin: morphology-dependent ionic conduction in Kraft and organosolv-derived materials |
| title_full | Tunable electrical properties of lignin: morphology-dependent ionic conduction in Kraft and organosolv-derived materials |
| title_fullStr | Tunable electrical properties of lignin: morphology-dependent ionic conduction in Kraft and organosolv-derived materials |
| title_full_unstemmed | Tunable electrical properties of lignin: morphology-dependent ionic conduction in Kraft and organosolv-derived materials |
| title_short | Tunable electrical properties of lignin: morphology-dependent ionic conduction in Kraft and organosolv-derived materials |
| title_sort | tunable electrical properties of lignin morphology dependent ionic conduction in kraft and organosolv derived materials |
| topic | lignin DC conductivity charge transport hysteresis memristors sustainable electronics |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1088/2515-7639/adf94c |
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